Too close to see
by Mediamaniac
Summary: Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye .
1. Prolouge

**_Marienette 's POV_** _:-_

 _'I love you ,...m'lady '_

I stared at the ceiling of my room .

I felt ... _numb_ .

The evening played out in my head . The akuma attack which ended with the usual fistbump . He was smiling , flirting , throwing around ridiculous puns until the time came for goodbye . That's when he asked me to meet him at their usual spot on the tower , saying he prepared a surprise for their anniversary.

The guilt of forgetting prompted her to go , taking with her the sweater she had knitted for him in advance .

He never forgot.

The evening was wonderful like it usually was , they ate , traded presents , talked about the final battle that should be nearing according to their kwamis .

He had set up a radio and somehow managed to get her to dance with him . It was fun . He twirled her around , teased her when she stepped on his feet and made her feel loved .

So loved .

They sat on the edge overlooking the city they had been chosen to protect . As it got late and the conversation dwindled to a comfortable silence , she felt a gloved claw gently grasp her shoulder .

" _Close your eyes_ ." he whispered.

She obeyed . She was facing the city and felt his breath across her ear as he whispered four words .

Words that kept playing in her head.

 _"Je t'aime...m'lady"_

She felt him move away but her eyes remained shut as her hands curled into fists . His warmth covered her clenched hand and she opened her eyes and turned to see him . I remembered thinking ' _why?', 'why now?' 'Why when there was no possible way she could pretend it was anything but real'._

I realise now that was exactly why.

He looked at her with gentle eyes filled with love and understanding . There was no hope in his eyes , just acceptance . He lightly squeezed her hand , silently telling her to ' _say it_ '.

' _Just say it . Get it over with_ '

' _Make it real'_

Her mouth felt dry .

She felt like crying .

She felt like running .

She didn't want to hurt him .

She didn't want to say she didn't love him , cause she did . _..So much_.

If it weren't for the sweet , unreachable boy that already claimed her heart , she would do anything for her partner , who stole the little bit she didn't know she still had .

But he deserved the _truth_ .

She loved him .

She trusted him .

She never wanted to lose him but ...

" _Chat_..."

He nodded reassuringly . She forced her mouth to open .

"... _I'm sorry_ ..."

She wound her fingers with his and squeezed though he made no move to leave . That wasn't enough. It wasn't him , it was her . She just couldn't ... She wasn't ... She closed her eyes and spoke.

"It's not you ... And it's not that I don't feel any ..."

A single finger pressed gently against her lips and she opened her eyes to see him give her a gentle smile .

" _I know , my lady ._.."

He knew . We _both_ knew . No one could take the others place in our lives . But...

He gently grasped my face and moved closer . My eyes fell shut and my lips parted on their own accord . I was too emotional to think clearly .

I felt him press his lips against my forehead and softly murmur the words I desperately needed to hear .

"...it's okay , m'lady ... _We're okay ._ "

She felt the small tears on her face .

IT took a while for her to realise they weren't from him.

"Mari , are you okay ?"

I was ripped away from my memories at the sound of my kwami's worried voice . I turned in my bed to see her cuddled up against me and gave a smile .

"Do you think we'll be okay again ?"

Tikki knew who I was talking about . Ladybug and Chat noir were excellent partners and if that was to change ...

"Definitely. He said it himself , didn't he ?..." Tikki shot out .

THe worry was still there.

"...and it was probably for the best ."

What?

" **What**? He doesn't even know me . Maybe I should just show him who I am outside the mask . Show him he dodged a bullet ."

"Do you really believe that ?"

She didn't.

She used to , but when she told him she was different outside the mask , he just laughed and said he was the same . Even told her he met her outside the mask and she didn't have a clue .

She almost told him the same thing before shutting up not knowing if he rescued random people like she did but knowing she never rescued someone who she thought was Chat noir .

Guess she didn't know him as well as she thought either .

After a while , the secret keeping was purely routine . She knew he had problems outside the mask and she didn't want to to take away the quote 'only time he could truly be free' unquote. There were also plenty of other excuses but the only real reason was that she was scared .

Scared he might be disappointed.

Scared he might be happy .

Scared he wouldn't respect her anymore .

Scared he would respect her more .

Scared ...to lose the only _real_ reason to say no .

Chat was the partner she trusted with her life and the friend who would run across the city after midnight because she needed a distraction .

He was silly and sincere , ridiculous and dependable and...

"...why couldn't he have waited until the battle was over ?"

Tikki flew up and landed on her stomach and gave a small smile.

"Hawkmoth's going to make his move soon . He plays with emotions, Mari . Unrequited feelings , fear , doubt...they're dangerous."

"Is that why he confessed ?"

Tikki smiled .

"I don't know . But he knew your answer ... and now , so do you ..."

Marienette groaned .

Tiki patted her head reassuringly.

"...Just listen to your heart, Mari . You'll be fine...So will he ."

That would be wonderful if her heart wasn't telling her to leave the country and never look back.

.

.

.

.

 **At the Argeste mansion:-**

Plagg bit another piece of cheese in silence as he watched the boy who , minutes ago was comforting and reassuring the girl who rejected him and was now clutching the pillow he was screaming into with shaking hands as it got soaked with his tears .

Barely a sound was released into the open which frankly was pointless since the house was empty anyway .

' _You know she doesn't feel the same way , kid'_

 _'I know ...'_

 _'She likes someone else'_

 _'I know...'_

 _'This is a lot of preparation for a rejection.'_

 _'I want to make sure she knows I'm serious. '_

 _'Adrien...'_

 _'I **know** , Plagg . But ... I need her to know how we feel won't change the fact that I'm her partner ... I need her to know...'_

The broken sobs slowed down . The kid had getting his heart broken down to an art . His mother , his father , his entire life just constantly punches him in the gut , but he takes that bad luck and uses it for the right reasons . Sometimes he slips up , but that's normal .

He was an excellent Chat noir.

This time , of course, he ripped his own heart out . His best performance. The smile never left his face until they separated , then he ran and cried and finally broke down .

He really was a pro when it counts .

Hopefully they would get past this before the final battle .

Plagg watched at the shaking lessened and washed his mouth before flying to the boy collapsed face down on his bed . He landed on the pillow and placed a paw on the boy's head .

Two dull green eyes turned towards him and closed as a small smile formed on the wet face . An arm moved from under the pillow and pulled him closer to the boy .

He snuggled between the arm and the boy's face , ignoring the stickiness of the tears and making sure the boy knew he was there.

He knew how important it was to the boy for _Someone_ to be there .

The tears still didn't stop though .

' _You gonna tell her you're leaving ? '_

 _'No,...I'll tell her that after the fights done .'_

 _ **A.N:-**_

 _ **Just because it's starts with an emotional scene doesn't mean that's the theme of the story . It'll vary depending on the plot line .**_

 _ **So ...I have a lot of unfinished fics and this started out as a comic when then got backstory , then I wrote a drabble and basically decided to post it . Warning : I'm not that clear on pacing . I know where I want the story to go but I'm not sure on how to get it there , so ...yeah ... Plus , I know 2nd person view is preferred by a lot of people but I'm more used to 1st person so it might vary depending on the scenario.**_

 _ **Hope you liked it .**_

 _ **Please review .**_


	2. Aiding the princess

It was dark.

It was raining.

Marienette was on her knees , soaked to the bone and covered in dirt , her hands frantically patting the ground and bushes in front of her despite not being able to see anything.

' _Another year , another charm .'_

 _'Oh Alya ! It's beautiful !'_

 _'Glad you liked it . I thought it was the most memorable one for last year '_

 _'Here's yours .'_

 _'Oh my ! This is gorgeous ! Did you make this ?!'_

 _'It's not that great .'_

 _'You gotta learn to take a compliment, Mari .'_

 _'Happy friendship day , Alya!'_

 _'Happy friendship day , Marienette!'_

They exchanged charms every year adding them to the first friendship bracelet they made and when she got home after a stupid akuma attack , she saw it was missing from her bag . She spend the entire evening retracing her steps trying to find it . Now it was too dark to see anything , she forgot to bring a flashlight , it was raining and ...

She _had_ to find it . She HAD TO...

"Princess?..."

She looked up from the bushes she was patting , trying to feel for the bracelet and saw ...an empty tree covered in shadows .

"Chat noir ?..."

A slight movement in the shadows covering the tree was followed with the voice once again coming from above her . No air of mystery , just curiosity and ...a bit of concern .

 _Oh no , not him . Not now._

"What are you doing here , princess ? You should _paw_ -bably get home ."

She turned back to the bushes and resumed reaching around blindly , focusing on her job .

"I could ask you the same question . I thought cats didn't like the rain ."

The voice was closer this time and the rain hitting her lessened .

"They don't but getting wet was a better option than staying inside right now . This kitty needed to stretch . No offense , my dear , but you look ,well, elegantly drenched ."

A bit of guilt hit her . If she wasn't so stubborn about their identities , she could have asked him what was wrong . She spared a moment to turn her head back to look at the cat-boy looking over her at where she was searching with curious eyes . He was wearing a hoodie which covered his head casting his face into shadows which failed to completely hide his bright eyes . The moonlight outlined his dark form as he towered over her .

She didn't have time for this . She had to _focus_.

"Listen ..." She began , eyes blazing "... I lost something _very_ important to me and I don't know where it is , but I checked the grounds when there was light , so it must be in the bushes where I kept my bag when the akuma attacked and now there isn't any light and I haven't found my bracelet and I'm _Not_ leaving until I do so _Please_ don't try to get me to go home cause I Am Not Leaving Untill I _Find My Bracelet_ ! "

And with that she turned back around and resumed her searching ignoring the wide eyes of the parisian hero . She couldn't be distracted and he was ... _distracting_.

Chat smirked , impressed by her determination if not a bit put off by her dismissal of his presence . Come to think of it , wasn't Marienette's bag pink? He could have sworn he saw a familiar pink bag during the fight that evening when he was thrown into a tree . But that was another tree , wasn't it ? Which tree was it anyway ?

Chat gave a small leap and sprinted to the fountain where the akuma was standing when it grabbed his tail and tossed him into the tree . Looking around he noticed the tree being right across from where Marienette was searching. He reached the tree and began looking around , his night-vision making the task a lot easier than it was for Marienette .

He knew the bracelet she lost must have been the friendship bands she and Alya exchanged in class that day . He remembers how they proudly displayed their respective charms before keeping them in their bags for gym class . He could have told her that he couldn't see anything where she was searching but she seemed a bit frantic and he didn't want to make her panicked...

... well, ... _more_ panicked . The girl kinda scared her right then .

' _Where was it ? '_ Marientte thought frantically . That bracelet was a symbol of their friendship , something she valued so much despite the desired secrets she keeps from her about her dual identity . She _Had_ to find it . She can tell her parents she decided to wait out the storm in a sheltered location . She didn't want to make them worry but she _Had_ to ...

"Is this it ?"

Her head shot up at the voice of the person who she thought had left . Of course he didn't leave but it was so quiet and ... she still couldn't see him .

"Chat noir?..."

"Oh ! sorry !"

The shadows overlapping the tree across from her melded to rise form to a humanoid black shape with green eyes peering at his hand and rubbing something on it . He stepped into the moonlight and held out a rounded string with a glasses charm , a cellphone charm , a ladybug charm and a wifi charm .

The next second she shot up and leaped over the bushes , ignoring the ache of her cramped legs and stumbled towards the bracelet . She barely took 2 steps before she was gently steadied by strong hands which settled her against his chest and placed the bracelet in her open , dirty , mud-coated hands as he softly rubbed her hands clean with the help of the falling rain-water .

She grasped the bracelet tightly for a minute before placing it carefully in her purse and throwing her arms around his waist , squeezing him as hard as she could though she felt his body go stiff .

" ** _THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU_** ** _!._**.."

She felt rather than heard the chuckles he let out as his body relaxed . Though the sudden hug surprised him , Chat was more amused and impressed at how the sweet girl didn't even seem to notice how soaked she was .

" So . I can take that as a yes then ?"

The smile she gave him temporarily disabled his mind . Her eyes were bright and sparkling and...

... And she was _shivering_ , they had to move .

He gently removed her arms from around him ( missing the contact but not wanting her to stay out in the rain ) and swiped the hair away from her eyes , which was _still_ _sparkling_ which was _quite distracting_ and _strangely familiar_ but _priorities_ . She was soaked and the bakery was quite a distance away .

Marienette watched his eyes narrow in contemplation already knowing he wanted to take her home as he probably knew it was a distance from here since he visited her during the evillustrinater incident . Still , might as well try.

"Chat , I'll be fi..."

A single finger pressed against her lips silencing her as he gave her a small smirk before grabbing her wrist and leading her under the tree he came from , its branches blocking most of the rain , not that she saw the point in that . She was already soaked anyway and she told him just that . Instead of replying , he grinned and turned her towards the tree and told her to keep her eyes shut .

She obeyed , confused but she didn't really care . She got what she came for and she knows Chat would never hurt her so she follows the instructions until she hears a faint groan that sounds like the word "cheese " and she freezes in spot .

She _knows_ Chat's kwami was obsessed with cheese and the muffled whispering that followed meant a conversation which required 2 people followed by some ruffling and warm , dry cloth land on her head .

"Wipe yourself dry with that . Don't wanna get a cold , do you ?"

She gaped . Her eyes refusing to open as her body froze . ' _Did he just **DETRANSFORM** _? '

Adrien heard her shocked gasp with a bit of amusement . He had worn a vest and a shirt with a hoodie on top before transforming and taking another hoodie for him as Chat noir . The hoods were water-resistant and kept his head dry and he had taken off his dry hood and shirt before tossing her the shirt to use as a towel after taking out the cheese to give to plagg .

He knew it was risky but he also knew Marienette, unlike her best friend , respected the idea of secret identities from conversations he had overheard between them in class . Plus , she was cold , it was dark and she could barely see anything as it was . Still better safe than sorry.

"Yup . So no peeking , princess . No matter how much you might want to see my handsome face in all it's beauty ."

Marienette blinked confused as she quickly grabbed the shirt and wiped her hair dry after removing her hair bands , barely acknowledging the softness of the material . This was a good quality cloth . ' _Did I say that out loud?'_

"Yes. You did ."he practically _sang_.

She shut her mouth forcefully and wiped herself clean before wiping her hands in the moonlight when she realised it was a white shirt , key word 'was'.

It was more brown now .

"YOU GAVE ME YOUR SHIRT ?"

She exclaimed spinning around with wide eyes to see ...nothing . She blinked in surprise before realisation struck her and she squealed before shutting her eyes tightly and turned around again.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist..."

His teasing voice sounded from a bit farther away . He must have moved to the other side of the tree . Good , she couldn't believe she was so stupid.

"I'm sorry , I didn't mean to ..." The guilt was evident in her voice .

"I know . Don't worry about it ." He reassured.

"Your shirt . It's ruined ..."

Chat gave a small laugh . To think she was so worried about _that_ . How cute . He quickly transformed leaving both his hoodies off and put the dirty one back on .

"...I'm so sorry . I'll wash it for you , but it'll still stain . This was such a waste . I'll still get wet on the way home and ..."

"Oh princess ! It hurts that you doubt me so ." he purred .

Marienette felt a pull on the shirt and she let it go as a warm , again dry cloth landed on her head . She pulled it down feeling the soft material in her hands .

"It might be a bit big but it'll do the job . Put it on ...oh ! And you can turn around now ."

She looked down at the brown hoodie in her hands and turned around to see Chat already back in his own hoodie grinning at her .

She blinked .

"You were wearing two hoodies?"

He winked .

"I guess my heart knew the princess would be in distress ."

She rolled her eyes and put on the hoodie . It was very loose and spacey and Dry and water-resistant .

It was _perfect_ .

She pulled out her arms and removed her wet jacket and squeezed it as dry as she could before tying it around her waist . Now that she had something that could keep her dry , she wanted to be as dry as possible . Chat lightly cleaned the shirt in the rain and squeezed it dry before holding it out for her with a smirk . She narrowed her eyes , hesitant to use use such a fine shirt as a towel ... again . Plus , it was _His_ Shirt . He was _Wearing_ That .

"It's already ruined princess , no point being care _furr_ with it now ."

She grabbed the shirt and began to thoroughly dry herself before freezing and turning to face her self-proclaimed knight watching her with innocent curiosity . She felt her face burn but it was _so_ cold and she was _soaked_ .

"Um ...could you ...could you ..turn around ? It's kinda weird with you ...watching ..."

His eyes scrunched up in confusion , his head tilting to the side as his eyes flickered to the shirt she had against he stomach before realisation set in as he scampered back into the rain with wide eyes .

"Oh...OH! Sorry! ... I...I wasn't ..."

She gave a small reassuring smile .

"I know , Chat noir ."

He gave a nervous laugh before rubbing the back of his head ( which looked familiar for some reason).

"I'll just ...um... Just call when you're done . Kay ? Kay ..."

Then he shot up to hide in the tree . She just resumed wiping herself dry sans her legs cause they would get wet again anyway . She knew he wasn't really staring but it was embarrassing to wipe her bare stomach and arms while he was... watching . She opened her purse which was waterproof ( for reasons ) and saw her little kwami look up with a smile before whispering.

"It was lucky that Chat noir showed up , huh Mari?"

She gave a smile .

"Even luckier that he had extra clothes . It's a good idea to dress up before transforming for patrol ."

"Wonder how he thought of it ?"

She huffed .

"Probably forgot his clothes transformed with him and grabbed another one before leaving ."

Tikki giggled .

"Or maybe he really did listen to his heart ."

Marienette rolled her eyes but there was a sad smile on her face . Her and Chat pretty much had the usual comrade they had before the confession a few months ago , though he no longer seemed to want to know her real identity and was even more secretive of his own . And now , here he was , helping her again .

She just wished she could do something in return without leading him on .

"Don't start , Tikki . You okay ?"

"Yup . Bit hungry though ."

"Well ! If I can convince Chat to let me go alone , I can transform and we could get home fast ."

Tikki grinned .

"You know that won't work . Even if he let you go alone , he'd probably just follow you until you reach home ."

Marienette gave a soft groan .

"Yeah ! And in this dark , there's no way I can ditch him . I can barely see him . Guess I'll just have to play along ."

Tikki giggled .

"Maybe he'll carry you like a princess ..."

Marienette rolled her eyes before closing her purse and putting on the hoodie and zipping it up and rubbing her hands . Ah! She finally stopped shivering. She was glad he found her , she would have never found the bracelet without his help .

He was still so nice even after she...No ! Chat's not that shallow . Plus he doesn't know I'm the one who ...

 _'I love you , m'lady'_

 _'Chat...I'm sorry'_

 _'It's okay'_

It's a stupid thought . He was still her annoying , endearing partner to her other persona . And right now , he was just a hero saving a damsel in distress . Maybe I should cheer him up , maybe boost his ego a bit again . He _has_ earned it.

She breathed in and...

"CHAT NOIR !..."

A faint rustling of leaves above her was followed by a dark figure jumping down in front of her ... before slipping and landing on his butt.

She couldn't help it . She started laughing . She spent hours in panic mode and the peace was getting to her . All plans of swooning over his heroic actions just flew out the window.

He looked up at her surprised at her mirth before a wide grin stretched across his face . He wished she would be so free with her emotions around him in school but she was always so reserved and awkward around him , probably because she was worried Chole would try something if she got too close . Too bad , she was a fun girl ...who , he noticed with relief , was no longer shivering .

He smirked when he saw her bundled up in his hoodie .

"You look _paw_ -sitively adorable in my clothes ."

She blushed ( _score_ ! ) before giving a smirk of her own.

"I thought cats always landed on their feet ."

He flipped upright and wiped his hands on his hoodie , long ago accepting the fact that the Marienette around others was not like the Marienette around his regular self .

"In case you didn't notice princess , I _did_ land on my feet ... The slipping was completely on propose ."

She placed her hands on her hips with a smirk .

"Oh _really_ ! And what purpose was that ?"

He gave a flirty grin and winked .

"To hear your beautiful laugh , of course ! And it was _completely_ worth it ."

She rolled her eyes , the smile still on her face . He gave a dramatic bow and held out his hand .

"Would you grant your loyal knight the honour of escorting your highness to her castle ?"

She raised an eyebrow .

"You're not thinking of carrying me , are you ?"

"Normally I would but the roofs are slip-paw-ry ( she gave a small groan . Good , her lack of response to his amazing puns were starting to worry him ) and I couldn't bear to risk you getting hurt . I'm afraid all I can do is accompany her highness to her doorstep ... Though if you insist ..." .

He wagged his eyebrows . She rolled eyes and gave him her hand .

"I suppose I can allow you to accompany me ...as a reward for helping me find my bracelet , of course ."

He smirked and gently kissed her hand .

"You're too kind , _princess_ ."

 _ **AN:-**_

 _ **Hope you liked it . This story is basically a collection of headcannons for scenarios all put together and this chap was unusually long for me .**_

 _ **Please review .**_


	3. Flirting backfire

Marienette marched into her room red-faced and slammed the balcony doors shut . She practically ripped the hoodie in her haste to get it of her ( She didn't, of course . She's not that ungrateful)

"How dare he ?, HOW DARE HE ?,...that insufferable, infuriating, insinuating , cocky..."

"To be fair , Mari . You did start it."

" _TIKKI_!..."

The little kwami snickered as she watched her human friend mumble about 'stupid cats' as she tossed the hoodie into the sink and began collecting her pyjamas to have a bath , her face as red as a tomato .

.

' _Too bad , and I was thinking of giving you a kiss a a reward for helping me '_

 _'Is that an offer , princess ? then ...I accept ...'_

 _._

"You know , Mari . You're acting like you actually wanted him to kiss you ."

"I DID NOT . IT WAS JUST A JOKE ."

Marienette half-shouted before slamming the door to her bathroom .

Oh , that girl was so cute .

Marienette quickly scrubbed herself clean and had a nice hot bath , while fuming about what had just occurred on her balcony .

She came out in fresh pyjamas and went straight to her dairy after getting Tikki some cookies.

' _Dear diary ,_

 _Today I lost the friendship bracelet and was searching for it when I ran into Chat . He found it and decided to escort me home when something Not Normal happened ._

 _Chat was a flirt no matter what girl he met . But I never saw him flirt with random strangers and I get that I rejected him but today ._

 _I and Chat were having a playful conversation on our way back home and before we reached , we saw another girl leaning out her window trying to reach for something on the tree outside her window . Chat , after hiding me under the cover of some shadows , had told me to stay and wait for him ._

 _I had a pretty good view from my spot and saw him disappear up into the shadows of the tree before seeing the girl scoot back a bit before peeking back out the window . The silhouette of Chat hanging upside down from the tree was highlighted by the light from the room the girl was in . In his hands was a little cat that was passed over to the girl who brought it inside and then he disappeared back up the tree._

 _Next came the interesting part._

 _The girl came back and was shouting something._

 _Chat flipped back down to his old position with a silly grin and The Girl Freaking Blushed ._

 _Okay , that's normal . She doesn't know him , and he was a hero. But that wasn't all._

 _The girl leans out the window and says something with a coy look on her face and Chat blinks a bit and gives a small laugh ._

 _Still normal . Still common ._

 _THEN , that Complete Stranger reaches out and grabs , Grabs his inverted face and Pulls Him In For A Kiss!_

 _THAT WAS NOT NORMAL ! And that stupid Chat should Not encourage these things . Although, Chat's eyes widened with shock as her lips came nearer , they lowered into an amused look as she made contact ._

 _I almost threw my shoe at them ._

 _Then the girl's eyes shot open and she was pushed back by a pair of fingers which had covered her lips ._

 _Then I put my foot back down , shoe intact ._

 _I watched Chat say something with a cocky grin and give a wink before pulling back up into the tree ._

 _I warned him about encouraging that kind of behaviour and He SMIRKED and asked if I was JEALOUS ! AS IF ! Then when we reached home and I just joked around like usual cause it's easier to talk to him and I just , he said that . I ...'_

She shut the book shut and buried her face in her arms groaning as she remembered what happened on her balcony just a few minutes ago .

The way her words spilled out of her blabbering mouth as they neared the bakery .

"You know , it's no wonder everyone thinks you're a flirt if you go around kissing your fans ."

The way his eyes flashed with some strange emotion before narrowing into a predators gaze as a smirk grew on his face .

"My , my , princess . Are you jealous ? If you recall properly , I _Did Not_ kiss her . She merely thought to thank me in that manner "

The strange shiver that ran through her body at the veiled warning in his voice , fully knowing the number of times she had brushed of his affections using that excuse . She couldn't help it though . She hated that one moment where it looked like they had kissed , his eyes amused as if it was _Normal_ for girls to want him. It Wasn't Normal.

"Maybe , if you stopped flirting , they would think to give cookies instead ."

The way her heartbeat temporarily rocketed as one arm wrapped around her waist .

"I make sure they know I don't kiss strangers . Now, where do you wish to be dropped,princess?"

The way he brought them both to her balcony with one leap . The way she felt the stupid selfish urge to prove he wasn't as much a gentleman as he claimed to be , as he proved again and again that he was. That stupid , stupid idea she had to make him flustered or something . To get the last word and act like she didn't care .

"Too bad , and I was thinking of giving you a kiss a a reward for helping me ..."

The way he froze at the sweet , faux disappointing tone of her voice , looking at her with eyes wide with disbelief as she smirked and walked to the door , before a gloved hand grabbed her hand .

The way she turned in surprise to see a wicked grin on his face with piercing bright eyes filled with mischief staring back at her , daring her to pull away as he lifted her hand to his lips to give a gentle kiss before slowly coming closer , his eyes never loosing contact with hers .

"Is that an offer , princess ?..."

The way her eyes widened at the silky , teasing tone of his voice . The way her back hit the wall and she pushed against it , still captured by his eyes as he came closer and closer before one of his arms pressed against the wall right beside her head and he looked down at her before raising one eye at her , challenging her to take back her words .

The way she ignored the pounding of her heart to stubbornly stare back at him with a similar challenge in her own eyes.

The way he grinned like a cat that just got his cream.

"...then I accept ."

The way his face came closer .

The way his eyes lowered .

The way her own eyes widened before falling back shut , the memory of his lips from long ago flashing through her mind.

.

.

The way she felt a soft pressure of his _nose rubbing against hers_ .

The way her eyes shot open to see him move away with an amused grin on his face , his eyes twinkling in the dark . .

The way his voice dripped with satisfaction as he gave his final hit before _winking_ and backflipping off her balcony.

"Sorry to disappoint , _princess_...but _only my lady is allowed to taste these lips_ ."

.

"I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO TAS... _AHHHHHHH_!..."

Tikki was still giggling .

"It was a cute kiss though ..."

"EXKIMO KISSES DO NOT COUNT !"

"So you wanted a real kiss , then ..."

"WHA...? I...? ...NO! I KNEW he wouldn't actually kiss me . I just ,...I just ...I just don't want to him to think I actually wanted him ...to ...OH MY GOSH ! HE THINKS I WANT TO KISS HIM . "

Somewhere near the eiffel tower , a dark figure was on his knees, clutching his stomach as his whole body shook .

"HAAAAHAHAHAHA! THAT WAS PRICELESS !...OH MAN !..."

Chat knew he went a bit overboard but , Man ! Who knew Marienette was so ... _bold_? The way she looked at him , as if daring him to actually kiss her , red-faced with challenging eyes .

She looked so dang cute !

Well , at least he knows she didn't actually think he was a shameless flirt or she wouldn't have been so confident he wouldn't just kiss her . But really , she should have given him more credit .

Oh, maybe it was a good thing she wasn't this open around him in school , if he gets swept away like this as Adrien , his dad would kill him .

' _How dare he ?, HOW DARE HE ?,...that insufferable, infuriating, insinuating , cocky...'_

Man , that was fun. She even made him forget about how upset he was about having to cancel the plans he had with Nino cause a photoshoot had been moved to the next day . No one asked him if he had plans though , but of course they never do , so it's his own fault for assuming he had any control over his life .

As far as his dad and Nathalie go , if his schedule is free, he's free . Plus , the fact dad doesn't really like the only real friend he has doesn't really make things any better .

He was still chuckling when he reached his house and detransformed .

"Cheese!"

Adrien watched his kwami head for his meal before turning to his computer and checking his private email . And by private , he means , the one his dad doesn't know he has and therefore can't monitor .

' _No new messages_ '

He let out a sigh . Oh well , he'll check again next week .

"That Kate chick didn't send anything knew ?"

Adrien turned to give his kwami a reprimanding frown which was promptly ignored.

"Don't call her that . Her name's Katherine . "

"Whatever . Why don't you just switch to her instead of chasing after ladybug ? You're already rejected ."

"One -she has a boyfriend . Two -she's older than me. Three- the mere thought is mentally disturbing ."

"Mentally disturbing, huh ! Kate and Adrien sitting on a tree , k-i-..."

"Continue with that and no camembert for a week ."

"...-c-k-i-n-g."

Adrien sighed and signed out of his profile , deleted his history and closed his laptop . It's not like anyone actually meddles with his stuff but he didn't want to take the chance with something like this .

If he had just waited a few minutes , he would have received a notification.

 _'One new message_

 _From : Katherine 44(Sender)_

 _(Hey , pretty boy . Good news . I'm going to be coming to Paris for a photoshoot , so better not ruin your model status before I get there . I don't wanna search for another cutie pie for the shoot ._

 _PS: I want to meet your little friend , that Nino guy . And if you don't bring him to me , I Will go to your school and talk you Everyone You Know ._

 _You have been warned ._

 _With love , your darling Katy Kat ;) xoxo)'_

 _._

 _._

 ** _AN:-_**

 ** _Hope you liked it .i pretty much post a chap when it seems long enough to fit and can be stopped at a proper point . Hope you liked it ._**

 ** _Please review ._**


	4. Chick King strikes

"You know , I heard him last night . I thought an clown akuma hit him or something "

Marienette gripped her arms tighter , her face face buried in them as she sat in her seat listening to Alya and her classmates talk about Kim's late night Chat noir sighting.

Apparently, he heard some laughter out his window and and opened it to to see Chat noir bounding away at a distance , practically stumbling across rooftops as he laughed ' _borderline hysterically'_ considering he could hear him from his room . From prior experience, he had assumed some laughing akuma had hit him with something.

Chat was stumbling across rooftops, bubbling over with laughter .

It was around the time he dropped her off at her place .

And she _Knows_ there wasn't an akuma.

End result : Marienette couldn't raise her head from her arms due to how red her face was . There was no way , No Way she could let Alya get suspicious, because then she would badger her for answers and she cannot tell her about what happened last night .

' _Sorry to disappoint , princess...'_

SHE WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! That stupid , overconfident, sneaky , flirty , annoying, insufferable,...

Adrien sat in the seat in front of hers with a straight face while physically straining himself to keep from laughing as he overheard both the loud conversation about his alter-ego's assumed mental breakdown (when your famous , after a while , most rumours become more entertaining than insulting ) and the softly mumbled complaints of the girl behind him , who was also the only other person who knows _Exactly_ why Chat noir was laughing last night .

To be fair , he never meant to embarrass her . He made sure to go far away enough so she couldn't hear him before letting his amusement get to him . But unfortunately, he was overheard .

Man ! He's a little fearful of how she'll react the next time she sees him ...well, the Chat noir him . Good thing he has superpowers. No matter how sweet and shy she is around him in class , she doesn't seem to have any inhibitions around Chat noir and he knows even the quiet ones can be deadly .

How ? No idea . But Nino warned him about underestimating people cause they seem nice . Once you give them a reason to hate you , they Hate with a passion , he said . Personally, he can't imagine Marienette being that bad but he would much rather not find out . After all , Nino has way more experience dealing with real girls than he does.

Just then , the teacher walked in and he turned around and tapped her arm with a whisper.

"Marinette..."

Her reaction, well,...reaction's' were ...confusing.

First she looked up from her nest of arms , her face slightly red , her lips in an adorable pout and her eyes slightly narrowed with frustration, but when she saw him , her eyes widened in shock , her mouth parted with a small gasp as her blush Increased before she gave a nervous laugh , trying to look anywhere except directly at him before _Finally_ forcing herself to look at him , her body tense .

"Adrien,...I ...yes, what...um..."

"The teacher's here ."

She looked up to see the teacher then looked back at him with a grateful smile . He gave a small smile in return before turning back to the front to face the teacher .

Seriously, why was she so uncomfortable around him in school when she was so ...free around Chat noir ? . He just didn't get it . Pretty sure superheroes are higher up in the intimidation scale than models or rich kids . And it's not like she's like that around Chloe.

He sighed as he heard her let out a groan of relief .

Did she hate him or something and was just too nice to say anything about it? He needs to ask Nino about it . But if Nino tells Alya and Alya tells Marienette, then ...shoot ! The teacher was looking at him , better try to listen .

.

Marienette was tired. She spend a good amount of time fuming before realising she had a dirty , wet hoodie that was given to her by the same boy that , as she now knew with almost 100 percent certainty , was laughing at her for becoming as flustered as she had tried to make him . She now had that quality hoodie in her closet carefully washed , dried and folded . He did help her after all , but that doesn't mean she won't give him an earful when he comes back for it.

Though , to be fair , she did start it . He just played along ...and won . Urg!...She should have known better to challenge the flirting king in his own game . A mistake she will not make again ...hopefully ... She wasn't really thinking the last time she did it . Wow, if she ever said something like that to Adrien , ...she'll probably die of a heart attack the next second.

A slip of paper flipped on to her book . She gave quick look to the side to confirm it was from her best friend before flipping it open and reading it .

'What's up with you ? You're making more weird faces than usual .'

She felt her cheeks get hotter as she glanced at Adrien to make sure he didn't ...something . Another paper flipped onto her book .

'Never mind . Same as usual, I guess ;)'

She quickly scribbled a response and send it back .

'It's nothing. We'll talk at lunch .'

.

.

"Well , it's lunch , Mari . Talk ."

"It's nothing, Alya . I was just wondering some..."

" _ **That's just not Fair**_!"

The two girls turned their attention to Nino and Adrien , who after the previous class , seemed upset about something. Nino was more of a angry upset while Adrien was just plain upset .

"Nino , I'm sorry . You know I can't do anything about it."

"But , can't you talk to him ?."

"The last time I tried that , he 'hinted' that maybe I was better off homeschooled "

"Bro . I know he's your dad , but ..."

"I know , okay ...trust me ,...I _know_ ."

Marienette's heart clenched at the resignation in his voice . She wished she was brave enough to give him a hug . She tried to force her mouth to work but the fear of making it worse or saying the wrong thing kept her quiet .

Alya didn't have that problem.

"What happened ?"

Adrien and Nino turned to face Alya . They shared a look , a silent conversation occurring between them for a few seconds before Nino answered with a sigh .

"Adrien has a photoshoot on friday and we had plans ."

"I thought friday was your free day ?"

Three heads turn to look right at Marienette. Which wouldn't be a problem if one of those heads wasn't a cute , sweet , kind boy who was looking Right At Her with ... confusion? .

"Yeah ...that's why we only plan for those days . How did you..."

"OH WELL ! We better get lunch before break ends . Come on , Mari ! Let's go !"

Alya shouted as she grabbed Marienette's arm and dragged her away .

Best ! Friend ! Ever ! ...like _Ever_ !

"Eating outside?"

"Sounds good to me !"

The speakers in school shouted as soon as they had gone outside.

"Students are to get inside the school and close the doors as an akuma had appeared not far from the campus and appear to be coming closer . I repeat ..."

Alya and Marienette both jumped , one with gleeful anticipation and one with worry and annoyance.

"COME ON , MARI ! WE NEED TO GET A GOOD SPOT SO I CAN FILM THIS !"

"Um...Right behind you , Alya !"

Marienette ran with Alya for a while till they entered the school and ditched her in the crowd of students running into the school before ducking around the school and jumped behind some bushes.

"TRANSFORM , LADYBUG !"

Ladybug reached the site of commotion and looked down just in time to see her partner doing ...the chicken dance ...With sound effects , while dodging ...exploding ...eggs ...

Which would've looked more ridiculous if there wasn't a grown chicken-man throwing them at him .

"Geez ! what has your feathers ruffled , Chucky ?"

"Give me your miraculous !"

She couldn't stop the soft smile that formed on her lips , all thoughts of letting him get knocked around a bit this time was just swept out of her mind.

Seriously though , how did she ever think she could embarrass _this guy_ ?

.

.

After the announcement was made , Adrien managed to dodge Nino when he left the classroom to find Alya , knowing she'll try to film whatever was attacking them .

How did he escape a classroom filled with kids ? Simple . He ran to the back of the classroom and jumped out the window onto the top of a tree.

Hey ! He was a pretty athletic guy , even without superpowers.

Which is why he had the honour of being the first to meet ...

"NO HEARTLESS CORPORATION WILL GO HEAR MY PRIZE CHICKENS ! THEIR BEAUTY IS NOT FOR YOUR STOMACHS !.."

...Chicken guy . A guy in a chicken hat and skin-tight red and yellow suit ...with a feather tail . There was a satchel over his shoulder and a chain around his waist.

.

So . Many . Jokes ...

.

...Brain ...Over ...Loading...

Okay ! concentrate ! Distract from civilians . Go !

"HEY ! CHICK KING !..."

Chicky threw an egg at him . _Rude!_

He dodged to the side and the egg hit the wall behind him bursting a hole in it .

Oh well ! At least , he's not being attacked by an army of chickens.

"That all you got ? Bawk ! Bwack ! Bwack ! buc ! buc, !..."

Sure , he should be more concerned with the exploding eggs but the situation _Demanded_ the chicken dance . It _Had_ to be done . Plus it was easier to lead the akuma away after they ...

A purple butterfly mask outlined his face and he groaned .

...ah! here we go !

"Geez ! what has your feathers ruffled , Chucky ?"

"Give me your miraculous!"

He rolled his eyes .

"Wow ! Didn't expect that !"

Chick King grabbed the chain (which had a beak at it's end ) from around his waist and launched it at him and it wrapped around his leg before pulling . The same time a familiar string wrapped around his hand .

Both pulled .

"Woah!"

His hand was pulled upwards and he grabbed the familiar polka-dotted yo-yo as his leg was pulled towards the Chick King resulting in him being suspended in mid-air and being stretched like he was on a medieval torture machine.

"CHAT ! CLIMB !"

He stretched his neck up to look at his lady standing on a nearby rooftop pulling him . He grabbed the string and pulled himself towards her .

"NO !...AARRGH !"

She winked at him and his eyes widened in understanding as she let go of the string just as the Chicky gave a strong pull causing him to stumble as Chat was yanked right towards him , the chain around his leg loosening as he got closer . Chat twisted in mid-air and and landed on the Chick-king's head before using him as a spring-board to launch himself up to the opposite roof .

Ladybug landed next to him . He gave a bow , extending his arm which held her yo-yo .

"I believe this is yours , m'lady .."

Ladybug rolled her eyes and picked up her weapon .

"The chicken dance , ...really , Chat!"

He stood up straight and , looking her in the eye with a serious face , replied in a firm voice as if he was a solider who had just carried out a secret undercover mission .

"The situation demanded it _."_

She rolled her eyes , a fond smile on her lips .

"Let's go , _Kitty_ !"

"After you , _m'lady_ ."

.

.

 ** _AN:-_**

 ** _Hope you liked it . Next chap's a bit more emotional._**

 ** _Please review._**


	5. Simple , Not!

After chasing the akuma away from the school to a office building , one cataclysm , then getting tossed into a building and a lucky charm later ,the akumatised object (a pen which was in the side pocket of his satchel ) was in Ladybug's hands.

 _It was simple for him._

It was supposed to be over.

" ** _NOOOO_**!..."

It wasn't .

The akumatised man charged at ladybug mindlessly . The desperation in his voice was riddled with pain .

" _ **LADYBUG**_!"

Chat didn't think . There wasn't time for that . He just reacted.

Both their miraculous were timing down , his faster than hers , but at that moment all he could see was a crazed maniac charging towards her .

So he pushed every ounce of strength he had into his legs and sprinted towards her .

Her eyes turned towards the charging man but he reached her first , his hand outstretched as he pushed her out of the way .

 _'I made it !_ ' was his last thought , the relief clouding his mind just before he was knocked straight through a 3rd-storey window .

His ring gave its last beep (which lasted slightly longer than usual) as he landed hard on his back but he quickly rolled under a nearby car as his transformation wore off , not wanting to risk being seen . An exhausted plagg zipped out off his ring and landed on his face .

"I deserve so much cheese for this . If I didn't delay your transformation for those extra seconds , you'd be street - pizza ."

He gave a small laugh before gasping for air . Normally , Plagg's the only one drained but extending his transformation drained energy from his human form ,...and he doesn't really have much to spare.

He took a few minutes to gulp down as much air as he could , forcing himself to _calm_ _down_.

' _Too close'_

 _'That was too close.'_

 _'But he had reached her , ...so it was worth it.'_

From his position he saw the cleaning crew return the broken wall to his right back to normal . Looked like ladybug was okay . Good , cause there's no way he can transform for a while .

"Sorry about that plagg . Wouldn't want you to have to search for a new chat noir , now would we ?"

* _smack_ *

"Ow!..." I said rubbing my cheek . It didn't actually hurt anyway plus plagg was exhausted .

"...what was that for ?"

"...for being an idiot . I want cheese ."

Adrien gave small smile and care fully picked up the little kwami and placed him in his inside shirt-pocket .

"You'll get it . I put some extra in my pocket , eat that . I'll get some more on the way to school. Sorry for working you so hard ."

A small grumble was his only reply .

Making sure the coast was clear , He ducked out from under the car and got up from the ground and straightened out his hair and clothes and casually ran like mad back to campus .

Hopefully, the class window was still open . He left his bag on a tree too.

.

.

.

 _It wasn't that simple for her._

' _This was not happening .'_

The fight was supposed to be over . Chat's ring was on its last spot . He tossed her the object and she was just about to break it when ...

" ** _NOOO_**!..."

" _ **LADYBUG**_!"

She turned just in time to see the akumatised man charge before getting knocked to the side by a black blur which crashed with the man and was launched straight through a window.

She cracked the object purely from how hard she clutched it and released the black butterfly as she heard the beep , crash , yell ...and saw a flash of green.

Which came first ? last ? She _didn't_ _know_.

Her body was on auto-pilot . Capture, cleanse , bye-bye, butterfly .

She ran to the broken window and looked down and saw ... nothing . An empty road with a few cars on the side .

 _ **"CHAT!"**_

No reply.

She released the cleansing light and launched to the next building ignoring the poor , confused man inside the building ,looking all around the area .

Nobody .

That was good , right ? It meant the transformation held out cause there's no way a normal boy would have survived that fall .

.

Does the cleansing light heal the miraculous wielders if they get injured ?

Was he hurt? Wounded? Did he just manage to escape the fall ? Did he grab hold of something to slow down his fall ?

Was he okay ?

She didn't notice a blond boy duck out of the street behind her and run for the school unaware of the mental breakdown his partner was going through .

Her miraculous gave a beep and she jumped down to the street in front of her just in time for her transformation to wear off . Tikki zipped out , tired but also worried .

"I'm sure he's fine , Mari ."

"But what if he's not. What if his transformation didn't last long enough and he's hurt ? What if ..."

Tiki entered my purse and rubbed my arm.

"Marienette, calm down ."

Maybe ,...just maybe .

 ** _"CHAT !"_**

.

.

.

Nothing.

He would have answered if he heard her . How could he _Not_ hear her ?

A ring snapped up her attention. She quickly grabbed at her phone .

It was a text.

Alya:where are you ? Class is almost starting .

She opened her contacts but closed her phone when she realised she didn't have his number . Of course she didn't . He tried to give it to her once but she didn't want Alya or someone to recognise it and reveal his identity.

 _Stupid secret identity._

Tikki's voice chirped up .

"Chat noir normally goes running at night ( though he calls it patrol ) . You can contact him then"

She let out a forced breath of relief .

"Right . I'll call him and he'll pick up and I'll yell at him for being reckless and he'll tease me for caring and everything will be fine ."

"That's right , Mari !"

 ** _"CHAT!"_**

"Mari , Have some faith in him . Go back to school . You're already late ."

Tikki's right. He's fine . There's no body or blood and he couldn't have run if he was hurt . Unless he's hiding somewhere with broken bones . He wouldn't want to worry her and ... _NO_!

He's fine .

He has to be fine.

He _Has_ To.

.

That night , Adrien decided to use his usual patrol time to finish all his pending homework , so that on the off-chance tomorrow's photoshoot ended early , he would be free for the evening .

Delaying the transformation from wearing off either seriously drained Plagg or the kwami was acting drained so he could get more cheese . Still , Adrien complied . The little guy deserved it and it was unnerving how quiet the he was being .

Plus , he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to resist dropping in at Marienette's place if he transformed , her normally bright eyes were dull since she ran back into the classroom and launched herself into Alya's arms just mumbling that she was glad she was okay . And as much as he wanted to visit her , he was pretty sure she was still angry with him and he did not want to risk making her feel worse if she was still upset .

.

Marienette turned towards Tikki for the seemingly hundredth time as she paced around her room .

The kwami shook her head .

He wasn't transformed .

It didn't mean anything except that he wasn't _transformed_.

 _He Was Fine ._

The thing about her and her partner was that Ladybug could contact Chat noir and vice versa . But if the other wasn't transformed, they can't reply , but their kwami would be able to sense that they were being contacted .

She Knows Chat would _Never_ ignore her . So that meant , for some reason , he _Couldn't_ transform .

What if he was in a hospital right now ?

What if he didn't make it to the hospital?

What if ...

"Mari , he's fine ."

"Has he tried to contact us ?"

The red kwami looked down with pursed lips .

"...no...but he is alive . That much is for sure ."

Marienette stopped pacing and sat down on her chair , hiding her face in her hands as she tried not to cry . That was it . The big question .

"... _how do you know_?"

She asked , her voice barely a whisper . Miraculous wielders were basically invulnerable . Falling from that height was almost nothing to them , but that was only when they were _transformed_ .

"Because he's Chat noir . And Chat noir is still alive . We will definitely know if it's anything that serious ."

Will they ? Will Chat just disappear one day and she wouldn't have anyway of contacting him because she doesn't know Who he is ? Will she loose her powers and leave him searching for her ? She wanted to go searching for him as well . Run and scream out his name so that if by some chance he hears her , he would reply .

Heck ! That was exactly what she was doing throughout the evening after school let out .

Now , she just sat in her room , hoping he would come back for his hoodie or call her or _something_.

Chat and her have both accepted that sometimes the other won't be available .

But she saw him fall.

She heard the scream.

She saw the flash .

But she didn't see him .

It should've been her . She still had 2 spots left . That stupid , reckless ,...

.

' _LADYBUG_!'

.

...overprotective cat.

"Are you _sure_ ?"

Tikki gave a comforting pat on her head . Marienette raised her head to looked at Tikki right in the eyes , though her vision were slightly blurred by tears .

"I promise you ."

Marienette gave a relieved smile.

"Thanks , Tikki."

Tikki couldn't tell her that Plagg had send a weak reply which consisted of ' _shut up !_ ' Anybody who doesn't know Plagg would probably misunderstand. Plus , if Plagg actually drained himself that bad then they had a _Really_ close call .

She looked at Marinette trying desperately to reassure herself of her partner's condition.

This worry won't stop until she sees him with her own eyes.

 ** _AN:-_**

 ** _Hope you like it . Frankly, I'm just writing up the story and separating into chaps at certain points ._**

 ** _Please review._**


	6. He was Okay

Marinette awoke to a comforting warmth . Her body was encompassed by an oversized hoodie that she had taken out of her closet last night in a haze after trying and failing to fall asleep for who knows how long .

Chat's hoodie .

The one he gave her when he found her in the rain .

The one he never came back for .

She noted that the hoodie was expensive and very well-made . Top-of-the-line material . Not something you just give away and forget about unless your filthy rich ... Or you had bigger problems .

"Tikki..."

The small red kwami looked up from where she was snuggled next to her and sadly shook her head .

He still didn't reply .

She got up and slapped her face .

No . He was fine . He had to be . And until she fights an akuma and he never shows , she'll believe it .

 _What about after that ?..._

 **NO!**

He had his own life to worry about and they never made plans so why on earth would he transform . Plus , he said he patrolled on most nights , not all just most .

"Mari ,...school starts in 15 minutes ."

That shook her out of her mental pep talk .

"WHAT ?"

.

.

"Hey Nino ! Where're you going ?"

It was a normal day . Adrien was absent due to work but apparently Nino kept in contact with him through texting. Alya and Marienette were walking to the cafeteria for lunch when Nino got a text and said he was heading out for lunch .

"Adrien's on a break and he's at a nearby cafe . Figured I'd join him for lunch . "

Of course , Alya couldn't let this chance pass .

"Mind if we join too."

" _Alya_!..."

Nino chuckles and shoots Adrien a text . The reply came in seconds .

"Sure ! The more , the merrier . Just a warning , Adrien's usually wearing some ridiculous disguise so the paparazzi don't recognise him . He does that when he leaves during an official shoot . They are the lamest outfits you will ever see ."

Alya snickers .

"Oh , this I gotta see ."

"I'm sure he doesn't look that bad ." Marienette tries to argue . After all , he always looks amazing .

"Oh, he doesn't , but the outfits are ridiculous ."

The gang reached the street-crossing opposite the cafe chatting ...when a shrill scream pierced right through the air .

All 3 heads turned to see a child in the middle of the street look to the side to face an incoming car as a hooded figure grabbed him and a bright green light engulfed them as they got hit head on and were flipped right over the car . The light faded as a leather-clad boy with cat-ears landed back first on the street , arms and tail wound protectively over the child .

It was him .

It was Chat .

He was here.

 _He was here!_

 ** _"CHAT ! "_**

Alya gripped her arm to keep her from running into the road , momentarily forgetting that she was a civilian , not his partner who spend the last night freaking about his well-being and sleeping in his clothes .

But Marienette knew that light . She knew that he had transformed while running . Chat noir could brush off that hit but not ... whoever he really was . If he got hit before he transformed, then ...

 _Why did he keep **Doing** This ?_

Then Chat's body relaxed and his protective arms unwound to show a whimpering child clutching his chest before looking up to see bright green eyes look down at him , a gentle smile on his face .

"You okay , squirt ?"

"I..."

"JAMIE! ..."

An grown woman flung herself at the child pulling him close and sobbing into his hair .

"...I told you to stay near me . Why did you ?... I almost lost you ..."

The little boy snuggled into his mother's arms .

"I'm sorry , mommy ."

During the reunion , Marienette saw Chat watch the mother and child with a strange look in his eyes before giving a small smile . Relief and slight hurt in his eyes .

But he was okay .

He was _Okay_ !

He was alive and breathing and moving and ...Ok _ay!_

Chat stood up , patted the boy on his head and began to leave ...

"CHAT NOIR !"

...when Alya launched herself towards him . His eyes widened when he saw her and he gave a small bow and with a wink and a salute he shot off before she could reach him .

"HEY WAIT !"

"Sorry , mademoiselle . Perhaps another time ."

Marinette watched him leave with wide eyes . He didn't even realise she was there.

He was _okay_ .

Marienette and Nino went inside the cafe leaving Alya to get an interview from the mother and child, Marienette didn't even realise they were seated until she heard a gentle voice penetrate her haze .

"Marienette? Are you okay ?"

"Huh!..."

She looked up to see Adrien ...in a pink beanie and a full-sleeved red-checkered shirt with green hearts on it and yellow pants . He was also wearing a green rimmed shades and black riding gloves .

It took her a while to realise that Nino was low-key laughing his butt off in the seat opposite hers and Adrien was rubbing his neck in embarrassment at her wide-mouthed staring .

Shoot ! Say something ! _ANYTHING_ !...

"Is there anything you look bad in ?"

 **ANYTHING OTHER THAN THAT !**

Alya walked in to see Marienette with her head wrapped in her arms , the blush still somehow visible , Nino clutching his stomach and shaking like a mad man with his head down and Adrien giving her a small smile and wave , while wearing a ridiculous outfit .

Seriously, she was only gone a few minutes .

.

.

Adrien had managed to get a significant amount of break time and he was going to _use_ it.

He was sitting in the cafe by the window wearing full-sleeved red-checkered shirt with green hearts on it and black pants hidden by a oversized hoodie he had borrowed from one of the interns at the shoot . The hood was up and hid most of his face , not that it mattered since he didn't exactly look like himself right then and the cafe was practically empty at the time .

He was watching a family that was outside the cafe . The child was asking for something while squeezing the small ball in his hand and the parents stopped their conversation and spoke to the child with a smile . The child laughed .

It hurt ...but he couldn't tear his eyes away from them .

That was what a family looks like .

A _real_ family .

His heart was filled with a bittersweet pain.

The father got into a taxi after giving the mother a kiss . The child giggled and looked away as the mother waved goodbye and began to look through her purse for something.

And then it was all a blur .

The child dropped the ball .

The ball rolled across the road .

He stood slightly from his seat watching the child . He could feel Plagg zip around under his hoodie through his arm to peek out of the edge of his sleeve .

The child looked at his mother with worry before going towards the road .

He moved .

Jumping out of his seat , he scrambled to the door and just as he sprinted through the door , the mother turned around and saw her child .

She screamed .

He pounced.

Plagg's voice cut through his mind as the thought ' _transform_ ' was screamed in his brain .

His arms surrounded the child and he felt the power fill his body before getting tossed over a car .

He laid still on the street , seeing nothing , hearing everything . Then a whimper came from his chest .

The child was safe .

He watched the mother embrace the boy and resisted the urge to grab the kid and tell him how stupid he was for risking this , risking what he had for a ball nobody cared about .

Instead he got up . He wanted to say something, but had no idea what to say .

So he left .

He brushed off the junior journalist of his class and flipped around to the back entrance of the cafe , mindful of cameras and detransforming before sneaking into the empty men's room and removing the oversized hoodie . Couldn't risk Alya recognising it . Who knows how much she saw ? He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings.

Plagg zipped out as soon as he was inside .

"You idiot ! What if someone had seen you ? Or if you hadn't transformed in time ?.."

"I couldn't just let the kid die , Plagg ."

"WHAT IF _YOU_ DIED ?"

He didn't answer . But Plagg knew . Plagg knew he didn't care , not really .

He wasn't suicidal . He wanted to live and he had plenty to live for , but... So did that kid . And if he had to choose between the life of someone so loved and happy and his own life , he didn't even have to think about it .

He didn't _want_ to think about it .

Frankly , he doubts thinking about it would help.

And Plagg knew that .

Plagg was the only one who knew _that_ .

"Ladybug left you like a hundred messages last night . She was freaking out ."

He blinked in surprise . Both at the news and at the annoyed and almost upset tone of Plagg's voice .

"WHAT ? _WHY_ ?"

Plagg practically snorted , giving him a glare before diving into his shirt .

"Ask her yourself , moron ."

He was just about to transform and do just that when he received a text from Nino .

/ _Dude , where are you ? You just missed an epic scene here /_

Okay . He'll ask her later then . Plagg was probably exaggerating anyway .

/ _Bathroom . I'll be right there /_

Later , when he enjoys a nice meal with his best friends and his classmates , he'll notice the apprehensive and worried look that passes Marinette's face as Nino and Alya tell him about what happened outside the cafe before her eyes narrowed with what looked like determination as she looked out the window at the direction he had ran off as Chat noir.

Adrien couldn't help but think that those eyes all of a sudden looked very strikingly familiar .

.

.

.

 ** _AN:-_**

 ** _My college will be starting again soon . Warning , might not update often ...or for a long time ._**

 ** _Hope you liked it . Please review._**


	7. What did I do ?

Tikki's eyes widened .

"Marinette! It's Chat !"

Marinette shot up from the pillow she had buried her head in and hurried to her feet .

"Spots on !"

A minute later , she had run across enough rooftops and found a good spot to talk without being seen . She pressed the accept button on the incoming call and was immediately bombarded by questions by a desperate , panicked voice .

" **LADYBUG !ARE YOU OKAY ?IS SOMETHING WRONG ? I'M SO SORRY ! PLAGG WAS TIRED AND I DIDN'T KNOW AND .**..."

She gaped at the frantic look on his face , eyes filled with worry and guilt . Wait ! What ? He thought ... _What_?

"CHAT ! STOP! ...I'm fine , nothing's wrong , _relax_ ..."

"Where are you ?"

She blinked at his demanding voice as his eyes moved from hers , trying to figure out where she was from her background ...which was the sky .

She sighed . Seriously, she was supposed to be the panicked one .

Suddenly , the memory of him being knocked out the window and tossed over the car , both times unsure of whether or not he survived and a vague but reoccurring image of him bloody , broken ,...in pain ...flashed through her mind .

The last one wasn't real , but the first two were.

"Chat ..."

She saw Chat focus back on her , his eyes furrowed in confusion .

"...Yes? ...my lady? ..."

He didn't know .

He didn't have the slightest clue about why she called him.

"...do you see the ladyblog ?"

He froze . His eyes widened and he began to fidget , trying to figure out what Alya had put on the blog .

"Um...yes?...not recently though ..."

He looked so panicked , probably thinking he did something wrong .

"Check the latest posts ...and meet me tonight at the tower , if you're free , of course ."

Chat noir blinked in surprise before narrowing his eyes and asking in complete seriousness .

"Are you okay , my lady ?"

Annoyance grew in her.

Was _she_ okay ? Yeah , _sure she was ._ She just spend almost an entire day unsure if her partner had died or gotten severely injured because he was protecting the girl who _rejected_ him and then got tossed over a car while she watched him run into danger _Without transforming_ . Not to mention , he didn't seem to even realise the emotional _pain_ he had caused her and thought _She_ needed help and was _Worried_ about _Her_ !

Yeah ! She was just _peachy!_

"Are you free tonight ?"

Her voice was hard . She was pretty sure she was glaring at him and the satisfying panic on his face was proof . He quickly gave a nervous grin and tried to joke it off .

"Wow ! My lady . Are you asking me out ?..."

His voice was light , teasing ..., desperate ..., but she wasn't in the mood .

"Chat ..."

"...I always knew you would come arou..."

" _CHAT_ !.."

He paused and looked at her as she pinched her forehead and breathed with her eyes shut , trying hard not to start screaming . No! This conversation had to be face to face . And she needed to be calm and talk to him . She had to make him _understand_ .

"...I understand , I'll meet you there at midnight ."

She opened her eyes to a blank screen .

He cancelled the call .

He was gone .

But he was _okay_ .

Now she just needed to remember that last bit until she saw him tonight . Surely , he can stay out of trouble until then . She wanted to see him now but then their voices would attract people during the day and they would have to go home for dinner .

No .

They needed to talk without distractions.

Marinette went back to her room and detransformed . Tikki flew out with a worried look in her eyes .

"Um...Mari ..."

Marinette turned to Tikki with a confused look .

"What's wrong, Tikki ?"

"It's just ...it's Friday night ..."

"So ?"

Suddenly , Marinette's mother's voice resounded from below .

"MARINETTE, WE'VE GOT A BUSY DAY TOMORROW ! MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER TO FINISH ALL YOUR HOMEWORK BY TONIGHT !"

Blue eyes widened with horror and fear as realisation set in before turning towards the shrugging kwami , then to the stack of homework she had to complete that weekend , then back to her kwami . Her mouth opened and closed before stuttering out a desperate plea for reassurance.

"...I...I...I can finish ...before midnight ...right ?..."

Tikki gave an encouraging smile .

"Sure !...maybe ?,...if you start right now ?"

Sabine Cheng shook her head at the loud groan of frustration that resounded from her daughter's room . Honestly , if Marinette just did her homework regularly , she would have to stay up most Friday nights to finish everything before the weekend rush .

Still , this weekend was pretty packed with orders , so it's best if she got started soon .

.

.

.

.

" ** _WHAT DID I EVEN DO?!_**!..."

Adrien went over _every bit_ of his memory and he could _Not_ think of a single think he had done to piss her off .

Okay , that wasn't true . He could think of a few things, But nothing too bad ! And she was _pissed_ ...At _Him_ ...but _**WHY?**_

He quickly jumped into his room and detransformed , not even stopping for a second before turning on his computer and opening the ladyblog .

Well! At least she was calling because of him and not because something happened to her . It would kill him if he wasn't there for his lady .

"You are such an idiot ."

He turned around to see Plagg flying next to him.

"Wait ! You _Know_ why Ladybug is angry with me ? ."

Plagg just rolled his eyes and flew away in a huff.

"Of course , I do , Moron ...I'm not telling you though ."

"...not even for camembert ?"

Plagg hesitated . _Hesitated ?_...when he was offered _cheese_ ? WHAT THE HECK DID HE DO?

"...I'll explain the details after you talk with her if you give me the cheese now ." Plagg bargained.

Adrien raised an eyebrow .

"What's the point of that ?"

Plagg gave a smirk . Adrien frowned . The staring contest lasted about 5 minutes .

"Give me a hint and it's a deal ."

Adrien said , pulling out a piece of camembert.

Plagg grinned and grabbed the cheese from Adrien's hand before zipping away .

"Hint : It's not because you did something wrong , just stupid ."

Vague and useless . Not that he expected any better.

Adrien sighed and turned back to the screens . He scanned Alya's report of that afternoon's 'incident' . Wow ! Chat noir saves the kid! Nobody remembers seeing the hooded man ! Who is the Cat ? Blah ! Blah! Blah !...wait ! A thank you video from the mother ?

He pressed the link and a video file started playing . First , it was a video of Alya ...

" _Chat noir , if your watching this . Please listen to the citizen you helped today .._."

...then the screen turned to film the mother with the kid in her arms , both having dried tears in their eyes .

" ... _I don't know who you are. And even if this wasn't a big deal for you , Thank You ! Thank you So Much ! You will never understand how grateful I am to you for saving my precious baby boy_..."

He paused the video .

.

' _Oh Sweetie ! You are our precious baby boy ...'_

 _._

Mom ...no...ladybug ...think about ladybug .

Would his father ...NO ! He had other things to worry about ...

Like Ladybug and why she's upset with him.

He shook his head and took in the image of the woman and her child , looking so grateful . She looked like she was the one who escaped near death . It was so clear how important her son was to her .

He smiled .

No matter what Ladybug was upset about , he did good this time and He _knew_ it _._

He resumed the playback and listened to the grateful mother and the little kid who gave him a cute ' _Thank you , Catty !_ ' of his own .

He didn't understand. Why would she be angry with ...

Adrien's eyes widened .

"Of course !..."

Plagg looked up from his cheese .

"Figured it out , brat ?"

".. _.Of course !_ she's upset because I risked my secret identity ..."

Plagg stared at him blankly as he once again became confused .

"...but then why would she call me last night? ..."

Plagg lost it .

"BECAUSE YOU NEARLY DIED , YOU _**IDIOT !**_ "

Adrien fell off his chair in surprise at the outburst , before looking up to see his kwami glaring down from above him .

"I...I didn't ...wha...but ...that was this afternoon ...she called..."

Plagg rolled his eyes . Then gave him a maniacal grin before speaking in a tense voice which demanded that he listen _very_ carefully.

"When was the last time she saw you ?..."

"...um...at...the akuma attack?.."

"And what did she last see ?"

Adrien frowned . What does that mean ?

"Me getting knocked out a window ?...but that's not new or anything ..."

"And heard the sound the miraculous gives when it wears off? ...and see a flash of light ?..."

His eyes widened . He imagined how that would have looked for her.

"...she ...she thought ...I ..."

"I want cheese . _I_ _ **Deserve**_ _So much cheese for this_."

Adrien waved him off .

"Second drawer on the right . Below the fashion magazines "

Plagg shot off to claim his prize leaving Adrien to his revelations. He fell flat on the floor and began mumbling .

" That's why she was so panicked ? She thought I fell out a three-storey building without my transformation. And then today , I run in front of a car and...AAARGGGGHHHH!..."

He clawed his face with his hands in frustration , her entire demeanour making sense to him now .

She was worried .

She wanted to _talk_ .

In other words : he's going to get a lecture about 'valuing himself ' and 'how important he is ' etc, etc ...seriously, a part of him wonders what she'll say this time . Mention how much his family will miss the kid whose birthday doesn't matter ? Or how much of an amazing partner she was stuck with ? ...they were poor arguments . It's not like his dad or Ladybug ever _Wanted_ him as a son or a partner . They were stuck with him and he did everything he could to not let them regret it.

The only person who chose to stay with him completely of his own free will was Nino.

There was no way she could understand . Mainly because she didn't want to .

She made it very clear she didn't want anything to do with him outside of the masks .

She had a life she loved outside the mask and people like that will never understand his life . They don't want to ...and he doesn't want them to . He knows he's blessed . Looks , money , fame , ...he really can't complain. He just _Can't_ .

But he likes being a free-spirited , impulsive , loud-mouth . Sure , Chat noir's personality's a bit over the top but he _Liked_ it . He _Loved_ it .

He loved how he could flirt with her and she would tease him back , How he could act as ridiculous as he wants and never get told he was being disgraceful .

He loved how she would treat him like a silly boy , instead of a famous model son of a major fashion entrepreneur.

He loved how she would laugh with him and make him feel like he actually means something without his legacy behind him .

He didn't want to loose that .

Ladybug was kind , gentle and so , _So_ wonderful . _Heck !_ She _Cried_ when she rejected him .

If he gave her a real reason to feel bad for him , she would never see him as that careless , silly kitty again . She'll try to be nicer , more kind , ...and he didn't want that . He wanted to make her happy , not pressured to look after him .

She didn't want him in the first place ...and all the fights may have brought her closer , gotten her used to him , but...

.

 _'...why couldn't I have gotten someone more mature as a partner ? Why did I have to get stuck with a ridiculous flirt like you ?...'_

 _._

...he never forgot. He's sure she did but he remembers how they were in the beginning.

She never wanted him .

She wants him now but someone as kind and selfless as her would warm up to anyone with time , but that didn't mean... _ **arrghhhhhh...whatever !**_

He'll meet her . She'll try to talk to him . He'll laugh it off , act like he wasn't thinking . (He wasn't thinking anyway , so that's not really acting ). He'll tease her , she'll get mad , yell a bit and they'll move on like they always do .

He loves the time he has with her . If he has to make her a bit angry to keep her from worrying about him , so be it .

He doesn't want her to become careful around him or worry about him .

He refuses to become one of her problems .

 _Especially_ , when she could leave him anytime she wants .

She only hangs out with him due to the akuma , and it took a while for their professional partnership to move to friendship , in the beginning, she would come during the attack , then leave as soon as she could , trying to talk to him only as much as required ...and he's not risking them going back to that .

He can't lose anyone else to a silent relationship .

 _Especially not his lady_.

.

.

.

 ** _AN:-_**

 ** _This chap was pretty much rambling. Still, hope you liked it ._**

 ** _Please read and review._**


	8. Wassup ! Ma lady !

Marinette was on a roll .

Seated on a chair on the balcony , hunched over her books which were on the table in front of her , her scribbling barely heard over the night traffic and the chirping birds as the chilly night air kept her mind as fresh as it could , Marinette worked furiously, determined to finish her duties on time.

"...AND DONE !"

She face-planted straight down on top of the open note on the table , the pen slipping out her loose hands , finally released from her vice-like grip and stretched , pushing back the balcony chair as she flopped down in exhaustion.

She had _Finally_ completed all her homework .

All evening, she was doing homework continuously , rushing through dinner and changing into her pyjamas , before returning to her work . Then she moved to the balcony where the moon was graceful enough to give enough light to write and the cold night air kept her awake .

Sure , she's pretty sure she did terribly in maths and physics , but she Finished !... _FINISHED_!

She was Finally _DONE_ !

"Congratulations Mari ! And there's still half-an-hour before you have to meet Chat ..."

Tikki said , flying in front of her face which was flattened against the notebook . Marinette slowly looked up at her kwami with a tired , but satisfied smile , before standing up . Her legs wobbled but she quickly gained her balance.

"...great !...just need some coffee and cookies and we'll go meet that silly kitty ."

Marinette carefully left her balcony and room and made her way to the kitchen where her mother had already set out snacks , knowing her daughter's Friday night routine ...well ! Most of it anyway .

"What're you going to say to Chat anyway ?"

Tikki asked , munching on a cookie as Marinette made some coffee . Seriously, homework was exhausting.

"Huh !...oh ...I just ..."

Marinette sighed . She didn't really know what she could say that she hasn't said already . But nothing ever seems to reach him .

"...I ...I don't know ..."

Sometimes Marinette truly worries that Chat might be suicidal .

But then he always shoots back up with a smirk , a horrible pun and stupid flirting that makes her feel stupid for thinking he's anything other that an impulsive idiot who doesn't think before he acts . A clown with no idea about the seriousness of life . Every time she tries to have a serious conversation with him about his recklessness , he just ...

' _Think about your family , Chat . How would they react if you get seriously hurt ?'_

 _'Hmmm... Your right . I would get so grounded .'_

...makes her want to slap him...

' _We're a team , Chat ! I can't lose you , no matter how annoying you are ...'_

 _'Don't worry . I'm sure Plagg will find someone less annoying to help you then...'_

...or grab him and shake him like a rag doll until his brain works properly.

But his words were always teasing , a perfect grin on his face as he shoots down every reason she gives ... And she lets him .

Tikki gave a sad , but understanding smile .

"He's not gonna make it easy . He hates it when you bring it up ."

Marinette groaned .

"I Know ! He always laughs it off like it's no big deal and I ...I can't ask him to tell me what's going through his thick skull because , ...because..."

Because how can she push him to talk about himself when she refuses to open up about herself .

' _You really want me to answer that , m'lady...'_

He would ask , fully aware she would back down . She _Had_ to back down .

They were partners first . Protecting paris was their job and no matter how reckless he was , how surprised and happy he seems when she called him her friend , how he never seemed to want to stop being Chat noir or leave her side whether at day or night ,... how he said being Chat noir was the best thing in his life ...fighting crazy creatures , wearing a mask , getting hurt , not getting enough sleep and lying to the people who he knows was the _Best_ thing and there was _Nothing_ else he would rather be doing ...

As long as he did his job protecting paris , she had no right to pry into his personal life ...especially when she was like the one who was firm about the privacy thing .

"...because it's too personal...oh , Tikki , sometimes, I feel like he thinks he's ...replaceable. Like I wouldn't care as long I had a Chat noir with me ...at least ,...not much ..."

He wanted more , she didn't .

He understood that . He's made it very clear that he was still her partner , even after she rejected him .

Marinette hopped on the counter of her kitchen and sipped her coffee , Tikki silently watching her .

"...it's silly . I mean he always acts so ,...so..." confident , self-assured ,..."...but still ...I..."

She trusts him .

She loves him , maybe not in the way he wanted her to but he _Was_ important to her . He couldn't just be replaced by another cat-boy . She needed him , puns and teasing and everything . That was just who he was and she needed him to know that was more than enough .

But how can she do that ?

How can she show him that she needs him ?

And then she heard the thunder .

Marinette's eyes widened as she jumped off the counter , the burn of the remaining coffee spelling on her clothes barely registering in her mind as she saw the heavy rain outside her windows .

"Mari ? ..."

Rain .

Her homework .

She dumped the coffee mug in the sink and shot off to her room , blindly hoping that somehow , Somehow ,...

She reached her room and opened the hatch to her balcony , ignoring the rain pelting down on her as she climbed up and ran to the table .

It was ruined .

Marinette stood in front of the table which held the remains of the last bit of her hard work , the rain soaking her completely from head to toe .

She spend around two hours on that homework . The rest of her homework was dry in her room , but...

"Mari ...it's almost time ."

Her eyes narrowed.

Screw it , she'll finish her homework later .

"Tikki , Spots on !"

She needed to see Chat .

.

.

.

.

Adrien had finished the last bit of the day's homework that Nino had brought over and peeked at his clock that read 11:40 in intimidating neon lights when he heard the groan from his kwami .

"Ladybug's busy . She can't come ."

Adrien turned to the kwami with a relieved smile .

"Really !"

Plagg grinned .

"No ."

His smile fell . He got up and collapsed face down on his bed with a groan .

"I hate you ."

Plagg blinked and then flew over to him and nuzzled in Adrien's hair before swallowing the last bit of cheese he had .

"No, you don't ."

Adrien's reply was muffled by the bed . Plagg rolled his eyes .

"Come on , coward . You really wanna leave your lady waiting in the rain . Not very gentlemanly of you ."

Adrien's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he turned a bit so his voice could be heard .

"Why are you so...eager ? You hate it when I go out in the rain."

Plagg snickered.

"Oh . But I love it when you get lectured by 'the love of your life'"

Adrien rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the bed before grabbing his secret weapon and a hoodie . He hesitated before putting it on and grabbing another one .

Adrien had a plan .

For this plan to work , he had to be calm , controlled and , most importantly, ...annoying .

Not too annoying, but just enough to make ladybug want to kill him at least one time . Now , he has already prepared himself to remain oblivious and silly in case she screams at him or , worst case scenario, ...cries .

It's gonna be tough , but he knows how to act .

One good thing about years of training in perfection is his body physically revolts against showing severe negative emotions around other people. Ladybug tends to make him lose control of his ...control , but as long as she kept her usual respectable distance , her usual professional attitude , he'd be fine.

Just need to pretend for this one night that he's playing a role and then they'll go back to normal and everything will be just fine .

He'll flirt , she'll yell , he'll tease , she'll scream ( oh please , don't cry ) or try to remain calm , he'll say whatever he can to reassure her without lying .

And then , he'll run away like mad the first chance he gets .

Right ! Let's do this .

"Well, might as well get it over with...OH SHOOT ! I'M LATE ! PLAGG !CLAWS OUT !"

.

.

.

.

"Chat ?..."

Ladybug landed on to their usual hang out spot on the Eiffel Tower . She looks around .

He's not there .

He's never late . So Why isn't he there ?

Is he okay ?

Did he get hurt again?

Was he hurt from the car ?...or the akuma ? Was he injured?

Did he forget ?...no , that one's just stupid .

...so why wasn't he here?

"Chat ? If this is a joke ..."

Never before has she wanted night vision so bad . It was dark and raining and he always snuck up on her during those times , but she was Not in the mood for his stupid jokes . If he thinks he's going to get out of this talk , then he is sorely ...

"Ladybug !..."

She turned just in time to see a black blur jump onto the platform , slip and slide on his butt right off the opposite edge .

She blinked and he shot right back up over the edge and used his staff to gain balance before straightening out and strutting towards her confidently like nothing happened with a bright grin on his face.

The next second he slipped again and fell back on his behind when she tackled him into a hug and had to use his claws to make sure not to slide off the edge ...again.

"You ! Stupid ! Cat ! "

She wrapped her arms around him , wide alert for a flinch , a gasp , anything , Anything that meant he was hurt and also desperate for the reassurance that he was here . He was clumsy and grinning and probably a bit confused, but he was Here ! and he was _Okay_ !

He was okay ...wasn't he ?

Chat on the other hand was trying to regain focus because Ladybug , _Ladybug_ ! was currently _hugging him_ and was _pressed against his chest_ and his heightened senses were _not helping !_

Too close ! too soft ! too strong ! _Too Much!_...he needed to control himself . He needed space . This was _Not_ good . Rather it was too good and he couldn't concentrate when Ladybug Was On Top Of Him !

"My ...my lady. Quite forward of..."

"Are you okay ?"

"...I...of course I am ! Why wouldn't I be ?."

She felt him hesitate . Strange . In all their previous conversations , he would spin out a response without a seconds delay .

Her eyes widened.

Unless...he was hiding something.

Chat watched as Ladybug suddenly separated her arms from around him( ability to think slowly returning...) and braced them on either side his head so she could pull herself up look straight into his eyes with her own piecing blue gaze .(...aaaaaand it's gone ).

"Are . You . OKay ?"

He blinked . ' _Come on , brain ! Work !_ ' then he took a small breath and tried (and failed ) to calm his rapidly beating heart .

"Purrrrrfect"

He replied , rolling the words . Her eyes narrowed and he started to fidget , restraining himself from putting his hands on her waist or flipping them over or pulling her down to lie across him or raising his lips just a little bit higher to brush against hers and ...No! Nah ah ! Not an option ! He needs to be annoying but that was a whole other level of No! ...just . _No_!

"Ahem ...um...ah...Not that I'm ...uh...complaining but ...ah..."

Ladybug blinked in confusion . Since when did Chat stutter ...and blush ...and why was he acting so shy and ...oh , _Oh_ ! ...her eyes shot down to see their position and when she looked back into his own eyes , her face burned despite the cool of the rain and she quickly scrambled off him blabbering out excuses .

"I...I just ...its just ...I...I was worried okay ? I thought ...I thought ..."

Chat let out a breathe of relief , his mind returning to full functionality as the space between them widened .

Dang ! He really couldn't think around her and he Definitely couldn't think under...nope ! Clear mind . Okay ? okay ... _okay_ ...and go !

He let out a chuckle .

"Well ! I can't say I minded the paw-sition, my lady ..."

.

.

.

 ** _A.N:-_**

 ** _Hope you liked it ._**

 ** _Please review ._**


	9. Trust ? or desperation ?

His words were smooth as silk with a hint of teasing and finally accompanied with a wink ...

His eyes were wide and panicked .

She snorted .

"I'm sure you didn't , Chat but we need to ta... ."

A brisk wind blew across them causing her to shiver . Her hands wrapped around her and rubbed up and down her arms to regain some warmth . Chat's eyes scrunched together in worry finally noticing that she didn't have any layers on her . He moved closer , reaching out for her .

"My lady , purr-haps we can discuss this another ..."

"NO !..."

He flinched at her sharp tone , his hand suspended between them awkwardly as she snapped her eyes to look right into his .

"...NO ...WAY ...AM I ...GONNA ...JUST ..."

"My lady ...Please ..."

She shook her head stubbornly.

"I'm ...fi...fine..."

He sighed and his once extended hand retracted to run its fingers through his hair.

"Well then , at the very least ..."

He turned away from her and a flash of green ripped across his body causing ladybug to squeak and cover her eyes . She stayed in that position on the floor , knees up and hands covering her eyes until she felt something drop on her , suddenly stopping the rain.

"...please accept this ."

It was his smell . She opened her eyes to peak above her knees and saw that ...she couldn't see him . She felt for the cloth covering her and realised it was a rain-hood , similar to the one he had given her as Marienette .

' _Seriously !? Again ?Does he just hand these of to everyone he meets or something ?'_

She put her arms through the sleeves and snuggled into the clothes before raising her hands to pull her hair free from their pigtails. Her suit quickly dried up , being non-water absorbent , the water just flowed down to her feet , but her hair was soaked .

"Chat ! What about you ?"

"Don't worry about me , my lady ..."

She looked up to see him in yet _Another_ hood ( how many did he Have ? Did he do this every time he left in the rain ? )

"You were wearing _Two_ hoodies "

He winked .

"Of course . I am always pur-pared to meet my lady's needs . "

Ladybug raised an eyebrow.

"Really ?...you didn't just transform with your hood on my accident ?"

"What ! No ! I mean ...It's a funny story... I mean..."

Chat rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin , his eyes taking in the image of her in his clothes . She stood up and gave him a 'go on ' wave off her hand and Chat eager for any topic other than the impending one began his frantic narration.

' _Dang ! Why did she have to look so cute in his clothes ? WHY?!...'_

"Well..."

He coughed.

"Okay ! I once, Once ! _Not_ this time !...may have transformed with my hood on by accident and put another one over me before I left cause it looked like it might rain and then I ran into a friend of mine who was freaking out in the rain. Let's just say that having two hoods was useful and I thought ' _why not ?_ ' and did the same thing again . Lucky , heh ? Still ! Today's was purr-ly intentional ."

Ladybug shook her head . They were getting off topic . Spend five minutes with this guy and you feel like slapping yourself for freaking out about him . She stood up and put her hands on her hips .

"Okay , Chat ! Now ..."

"So , where is it ?..."

She blinked . Chat , of course , stood there with his hands in his pockets , the picture of innocent anticipation .

"Where is ...what ?!..."

He grinned . She frowned . What was he playing at this time ?

"I'm waiting..."

He sang , moving back and forth on his heels , his eyes sparkling with mischief. She had to force herself to Stay . On . Topic ...aka. Him almost ...okay , just calm down and...

"Waiting for wha...oh ! Forget it ! Chat , I ..."

Chat gave a dramatic gasp . Ladybug gave a exasperated groan .

"You ...you ...Forgot ? My lady ...how could you ?..."

He practically whimpered .

"FORGOT WHAT ?"

In a second , his mouth parted to give a sweet smile .

"My 'thank you ' of course ! It's common courtesy . To think that a lady such as yourself ..."

She threw her arms up and spoke as sarcastically as possible .

"OH MY ...Fine ! THANK YOU , MY WONDERFUL PARTNER FOR BESTOWING UPON ME SUCH A WONDERFUL GIFT. "

He blinked .

"It's not a gift . I kinda need it back later . I can get you another one if you'd like . That one's ...um...accounted for ."

OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD !

 ** _"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD !..."_**

Chat froze , standing perfectly still as Ladybug began her rant .

 _ **"...I MEAN , I STILL HAD TWO MINUTES LEFT , YOU IDIOT ! I WOULD'VE BEEN FINE , BUT YOU ...YOU JUST ...JUST ...I COULDN'T FIND YOU OR CONTACT YOU AND ..."**_

' _and whose fault is that ?_ ' He wanted to add but he kept his mouth shut . Now was Not the time .

 _ **"...I WAS SO WORRIED ..."**_

Chat couldn't stop the smile that came upon his lips at that . She was _worried_ !...about _him_ ! Granted , she's so kindhearted , she probably worries about everyone but to hear that brought him a sense of joy he should probably mask before Ladybug punches him in the face .

 _ **"..**_. _ **AND THEN I GO OUT WITH MY FRIENDS AND SEE YOU GET TOSSED OVER A CAR !...WHILE TRANSFORMING ! ...I MEAN , WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"**_

And now the attention was back on him .

Okay !

He can do this !

She was looking right into his eyes . Two bluebell gems shining up at him with anxiousness and concern and relief and ...

He can't do this !

"Chat ..I just ..."

Work , brain ! Work ! Come on , mouth , don't fail me now !

"I was thinking that the kid doesn't deserve to die ' ."

Ladybug blinked before stalking towards him and grabbing him by the bell , pulling him down to look him in the eye.

"And what if you die , huh? Then what ? Have you ever thought of that ?"

Chat's eyes softened at the desperation in her voice . A gentle smile tugged at his lips as he saw the fear in her eyes . Fear for _Him_ ! Fear of losing _Him_ !

In the back of his mind , he acknowledged that being happy about that probably meant that he was kinda sick ,...and not in a good way .

"Yes ..."

The fear was replaced with confusion . He should pull away now . Make a joke . Make her laugh . Just ... _Stop_ this ! But as he looked in her eyes , he knew that she was hurting because of him and he _Couldn't_ handle that .

He just couldn't think around her .

"...and it was worth the risk."

One of his hands reached up and gently cupped her cheek as she tried desperately to say something ,... _Anything_ !

"I ...how could ...how could you Say that ? "

He was still trapped in her gaze as his other hand lowered down to her waist and settled there . Her hands were on his chest , fingers scrapping the cloth. He pressed his forehead against hers and spoke with complete sincerity the only reassurance he could give her.

"My lady , ...I have No intention of dying even one minute before I have to .( But if I have to , then I will ) So don't worry about me , okay ? ( Please smile ) I'm a tough kitty and am way too selfish to let another guy be your partner ( unless he's better for you ) ."

Ladybug let her eyes close shut , almost as if she heard the words he made sure not to say out loud .

"I don't want another partner ..."

She lowered her head to his chest and he wondered if she could hear his heart as well as he could. His hand lowered and rested lightly on her hip . His mind was...something . She took a deep breath and he rested his head above hers , relaxing at the end of the discussion.

"...I want you ."

His clouded mind kept him from stopping the dark , self-depreciating chuckle that escaped his lips .

"No , you don't ."

She froze , before abruptly pulling away and looking up at him with wide eyes . He gaped , his words finally registering in his head ' _ **sh*t , sh*t , sh*t , this ! ...this is why he Hates these stupid Talks !'**_

" _ **What !?"**_

" **No** !...no, no, no , no, no, ...I didn't , ...I mean ...not _Now !_ Like you didn't want me Before ! , ...like before you found out how good I was at fighting and stuff ..."

Her eyes narrowed .

"You think I only care about your fighting skills ."

He stuttered , backing away from her , his eyes looking right and left for an escape , because well ! ...Yes ! He was just the guy who was chosen as her partner , not like she or anybody else actually _wanted_ him around or something.

" ** _WHAT!?_** "

He looked forward to see her standing right in front of him , her mouth open , her eyes wide open with horror and disbelief .

Oh no !

"Please tell me I didn't say that out loud ."

"I...chat , I don't ..."

He groaned . This was _Not_ going according to plan . He needs to leave before he makes it worse .

"Just forget it , okay ! I didn't mean ..."

Two gloved hands caught his face and pulled him down , his eyes widened as they caught sight to hers , bright and fierce with determination and resolve .

He blushed .

"Chat ..."

"...uh... huh..."

"...you know I care about you ,...right ?"

He blinked .

"...yeah ."

"...not just as my partner , ...but also as a Friend ?"

He hesitated.

"I ... um ...I do ...I just ...you're ...you...I ...um... "

She noticed his hesitation and closed her eyes before stepping back . His eyes never left her face . She looked up to see him standing there with a confusion written all over his face and made her decision .

"Tikki ..."

She gave him a gentle smile . His eyes widened in understanding .

"...spots off ."

She closed her eyes as she felt the drenched fabric of her pyjamas cover her skin under the large hoodie she had borrowed from her partner , her _friend_. She couldn't be there for him as a partner because he was already a good partner , and she needs to show him , he's a friend too , ...but this .

This was a risk .

She was putting her family in danger but she couldn't think of that right then , when she looked in his eyes she saw the desperate plea in them , the fear that she didn't want him as part of her life . He was part of her life but to think he believes she just puts up with him out of necessity and she just ...

She can't lose him for real .

She took a deep breathe and opened her eyes expecting to see a surprised superhero gaping at her .

Instead , Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood on a platform of the Eiffel Tower covered by a quality rain-hood and soaked pyjamas protecting her from the last drops of rain looking at her kwami giving her a concerned look ... _completely alone ._

Her mouth dropped open .

"Wha ? Where did ..."

"Chat just send a message saying he had to go and that it was nice chatting with you "

Marinette turned to her kwami with a flabbergasted expression .

Tikki shrugged .

How dare he ? How _**Dare He ?!**_

" ** _YOU STUPID CHAAAATTTTT!..."_**

A couple of miles away , a feline superhero flinched .

.

.

.

 ** _A.N:-_**

 ** _I can't believe I managed to finish this . Hope you like it ._**

 ** _Please review ._**


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